AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #570
It's the Spider-Fight of the century: SPIDER-MAN versus VENOM versus ANTI-VENOM! Who will be the last web-slinger standing? The guy with radioactive spider-blood? The man with the original symbiote? Or...hold on...just who or what is Anti-Venom anyway?! Also: a regular Spidey cast member falls prey to Menace! And Aunt May sees a suspiciously secret side of the F.E.A.S.T. center...
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #571
How do you top last week's Spider-Mano-a-mano-a-mano? How about with an all-goblin throwdown?! It's the true goblin taking on the new goblin as NORMAN OSBORN squares off against MENACE! Also: more SPIDEY/THUNDERBOLTS action! And one of Spider-Man's greatest foes finally uncovers one of his best kept secrets...
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #572
Bullseye and the Thunderbolts target Spider-Man...in a way he's never been targeted before! Also: Oscorp's secret scandal, but who's behind it? Harry or Norman? And a classic Spider-Man foe returns to the fold! Spider-Man's Brand New Day is over, and now all that's left for him are NEW WAYS TO DIE!
The thirteen-year-old, who chose this title, seems to like it, which isn't surprising. The surprising thing is how much I've been liking it. I don't think Spidey is ever going to make it onto one of my favorite character lists, but this is a fun read.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #42
The final chapter of the epic "Death of Captain America" saga is here! The New Captain America, the Falcon, the Black Widow, Sharon Carter - all in a final showdown with the Red Skull and his minions for the future of America!
Again, of course. Still loving this book more than chocolate.
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 #5
Blade is back. And what is Lady Jacqueline Falsworth to him, except another dead vampire? Plus: Excalibur in the suburbs, the tears of a Skrull and tea with Union Jack.
Cool, a Union Jack appearance! :)
MARVEL ADVENTURES THE AVENGERS #28
It's always tough when your parents don't like the girl you're dating, but it's even rougher if you happen to be Thor, son of Odin! Worse, Odin sets Thor up on a date with a Frost Giant's daughter! When Thor ditches her to sneak away on a date with Storm, it's up to rest of the Avengers to cover for him.
Sounds like one the kids will like.
SECRET INVASION #6 (of 8)
EMBRACE CHANGE! With these words, the Skrulls have made their intentions clear but not everyone thinks they sound all that bad. Which heroes and icons are hell-bent on defending the Earth from the invasion, and who thinks a new era has dawned for mankind? The final double-page spread of this issue will send chills down your spine, and that is a promise!!
Sounds interesting. Not exciting, interesting. But interesting is good.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #18
INTRODUCING NICK FURY'S SECRET WARRIORS! Do you have what it takes to be trained by the greatest agent in the world? Well, do you? Well, you probably don't, but thankfully he has gathered new heroes who just might!
More Nick Fury is always good!
NEW AVENGERS #45
If the Skrulls have infiltrated us for years preparing for the INVASION, then what happened to them during the legendary HOUSE OF M event? Find out here in another huge chapter in the Secret Invasion story packed with shocking reveals.
Well, I'm getting it...but really, I don't much care about what happened to this year's big event guest stars during the last big event...
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #17
NEW CLUES TO MUTANT ZERO'S IDENTITY AND AN AVENGER RETURNS!
Camp Hammond has been overrun, not just by the occupying Skrull army, but by the SKRULL QUEEN, herself! Well guess what? That's just what the SHADOW INITIATIVE wanted! Join MUTANT ZERO, TRAUMA, BENGAL, CONSTRICTOR, and ANT-MAN as they try this war's most dangerous mission: to take out the SKRULL-SPIDER-WOMAN! That IS why you stayed behind, right ANT-MAN? Also: As 3-D MAN and the KILL KREW carve a green, bloody swath across America, their numbers continue to grow. And in this issue, a classic AVENGER signs up-- and joins the AVENGERS: INITIATIVE ongoing cast!
I think that's the most capital letters in a single solicitation this month. That's not a good thing, btw.
DEADPOOL #1 & #2
The Merc with a Mouth is back, even deadlier and more deranged than before! The planet has been invaded by Skrulls, everything’s gone topsy-turvy...but, in Deadpool’s world, that just means it’s Monday! Crazy times call for crazy men, but c’mon, this guy’s insane! Like it or not, Deadpool may be the only person on the planet who can save us...but who’s to say he wants to? Deadpool: His madness is his method! You won’t want to miss it!
Easily the most anticipated title of the year around our house!
SHE-HULK #33
He may have helped Nova and the Guardians save the universe twice, but now the Super-Skrull is out for blood...the blood of his own daughter! Can She-Hulk prevent the murder of her partner, or will Jazinda’s infamous father use this summer’s alien invasion to do his dirty work?
Usually decent. No plans to drop at this point.
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #3 (of 5)
Patsy Walker is in WAY over her head. As the sole member of the Initiative supporting Alaska, you’d think she’d have an easy time. You’d be wrong. She’s on a mission to find the heir to the magical shamanic realm of Attakpanik, but she's closer to sinking the whole continental shelf and taking Tony Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D. down with her.
Well, it sounds as if Patsy is being presented as not entirely competent. Which is a decent potential storyline--the hero learning to master his/her abilities and eventually pulling through against odds--but only when it's a relatively new hero. Patsy has been around since the 70s, you know? Well, we'll see.
MOON KNIGHT #22
“THE DEATH OF MARC SPECTOR,” PART 2
With Tony Stark forced onto the sidelines, Norman Osborn has been tapped to bring in the fugitive super hero -- by all means necessary. That’s right, True Believer, the Thunderbolts are on the hunt...and Moon Knight’s their game. They know his name and address, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find Marc Spector, should it? Guess again.
You know, I don't think I'm liking this book as much as I did at first, but it's still a good read.
MS. MARVEL #31
In the days following the Secret Invasion, there is a death in the family. Brian Reed (SECRET INVASION: SPIDER-MAN) and Marcos Marz (Batman) begin the tale of Ms. Marvel's new life post-Secret Invasion.
Whoa, post-Secret Invasion? Isn't that supposed to be going on for, like, the rest of the year?
MS. MARVEL ANNUAL 1
It's a Brand New Day as Ms. Marvel and the Amazing Spider-Man cross paths. Can they settle their own differences and save Manhattan from menacing mechanized malcontents? Only Brian Reed (SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE) and Mark Robinson (CREDIT) know for sure!
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man have differences? I gather this is yet another Inititative-vs-non thing, and Carol actually has a decent record of focusing on the villains in these situations, overall.
RUNAWAYS #2
The kids are back in town, and LA will never be the same. They’ve set up new digs in Malibu, but will they be able to keep it from being destroyed the first day? The remains of Runaway Karolina’s alien race has come to Earth to get revenge for the millions who died on their homeworld. And they’re pointing their fingers at Karolina and Xavin.
I hope this is good, because we'll have three issues of it ordered by the time we get one.
YOUNG X-MEN #6
One Young X-Man (or X-Woman, we're not telling!) is dead! But there are still more than ten mutants (you read that right) vying for membership on the team. Who will be left to carry on the X-Torch? Marc (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Eli Stone) Guggenheim and Yanick (ULTIMATE X-MEN) Paquette aren't telling -- except in this self-contained issue perfect for new readers!
Everyone seems to like this one so far.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 — THE BURDEN OF DREAMS TPB
“Beloved comic book hero Captain America is back in action, armed and ready to fight for freedom in the 21st century.” — abcnews.com
Agent 13. Bucky Barnes. The Falcon. Black Widow. Iron Man. Steve Rogers was often the glue that bound these heroes together in common cause. Now, in the aftermath of his death, they come together again in a desperate attempt to keep his dream alive. But the collapse of Steve Roger’s dream was just the first step in the wicked machinations of the Red Skull, who is determined to see the death of America follow soon after the death of the Captain. As the Skull's master plan kicks into motion, and chaos begins to take hold of the United States, only one man stands in its way — but is he up to the task? Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA #31-36.
Didn't I order a Cap trade just a few months ago? Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Action figure report: Batgirl, Hawkgirl, Mary Marvel
Batgirl
This is the awesome Barbara Gordon Showcase Batgirl, and I grabbed it as soon as I saw it in the store--I've wanted it since I first saw it online and now I have it, bwahaha!
She is a beautiful figure, very sixties with her red lipstick and evenly coiffed hair. As far as I can tell the costume is quite faithful to the original design.
As for being playable, well, she'll be played with but probably won't see a lot of action compared to some others because she doesn't move all that well. She bends at the knee and elbow. She has decent shoulder articulation. The head movement is all right. However, she doesn't turn at the waist, and as for sitting, she can barely do it. You can bend her at the hips but she ends up leaning so far back that she might as well just stay standing. And she can stand, even in heels, very nice.
However, she is such a pretty thing that I can't complain too much about her shortcomings. :)
Hawkgirl
We had two choices of Hawkgirl, the Alex Ross Shayera version and the Justice League of America Kendra version. The former looked neat and had two heads (not at the same time, you could switch them), but the thirteen-year-old expressed a strong preference for Kendra, who's one of her favorite characters, so we went with that.
She's a good-looking figure, looks very tough and reasonably muscular--there's no question that she's perfectly at home with a mace in her hand (the mace comes with the figure). The costume is nicely done, particularly the headgear. The removable wings look good but are a little loose and tend to move around a bit, makes it harder to pose her but it isn't a huge deal. And she has that arched back thing that you sometimes see, which means that a lot of things she tries to do, other than standing up straight being menacing, tend to look a little questionable because her butt sticks out.
Hawkgirl doesn't stand well at all so will be doing a lot of leaning against walls. She bends at the knee, elbow and hip, so if you take off the wings she can sit, although she's leaning back fairly far so would probably prefer a recliner. She does not turn at the waist, but we knew that when we got her (she's got a large bare area there so it was apparent). Good shoulder articulation and decent head movement. Overall a reasonably playable figure, although the right elbow is a little weak, presumably a flaw in this particular figure.
Mary Marvel
There were two versions of Mary, one in the red dress and one in the white; we went with the white (which I believe is the variant) because that's mainly what I've seen her wearing.
She's a very pretty figure--nice face, and a decent job on the costume considering that it isn't skin-tight. She seems to have a normal teen-age girl's figure, which is to say fairly moderate in the bust and not overly muscular.
She stands easily (perhaps due to the lack of heels). She can't sit--even if the cape didn't get in the way (and it's pretty flexible) the skirt is what makes it impossible. She bends at the knees and elbows, has decent shoulder articulation, and actually moves her head pretty well considering how long her hair is. Surprisingly, she doesn't turn at the waist--and that would have been easy enough to do subtly with the belt at the waist and all, so I'm not sure why that isn't the case.
This is the awesome Barbara Gordon Showcase Batgirl, and I grabbed it as soon as I saw it in the store--I've wanted it since I first saw it online and now I have it, bwahaha!
She is a beautiful figure, very sixties with her red lipstick and evenly coiffed hair. As far as I can tell the costume is quite faithful to the original design.
As for being playable, well, she'll be played with but probably won't see a lot of action compared to some others because she doesn't move all that well. She bends at the knee and elbow. She has decent shoulder articulation. The head movement is all right. However, she doesn't turn at the waist, and as for sitting, she can barely do it. You can bend her at the hips but she ends up leaning so far back that she might as well just stay standing. And she can stand, even in heels, very nice.
However, she is such a pretty thing that I can't complain too much about her shortcomings. :)
Hawkgirl
We had two choices of Hawkgirl, the Alex Ross Shayera version and the Justice League of America Kendra version. The former looked neat and had two heads (not at the same time, you could switch them), but the thirteen-year-old expressed a strong preference for Kendra, who's one of her favorite characters, so we went with that.
She's a good-looking figure, looks very tough and reasonably muscular--there's no question that she's perfectly at home with a mace in her hand (the mace comes with the figure). The costume is nicely done, particularly the headgear. The removable wings look good but are a little loose and tend to move around a bit, makes it harder to pose her but it isn't a huge deal. And she has that arched back thing that you sometimes see, which means that a lot of things she tries to do, other than standing up straight being menacing, tend to look a little questionable because her butt sticks out.
Hawkgirl doesn't stand well at all so will be doing a lot of leaning against walls. She bends at the knee, elbow and hip, so if you take off the wings she can sit, although she's leaning back fairly far so would probably prefer a recliner. She does not turn at the waist, but we knew that when we got her (she's got a large bare area there so it was apparent). Good shoulder articulation and decent head movement. Overall a reasonably playable figure, although the right elbow is a little weak, presumably a flaw in this particular figure.
Mary Marvel
There were two versions of Mary, one in the red dress and one in the white; we went with the white (which I believe is the variant) because that's mainly what I've seen her wearing.
She's a very pretty figure--nice face, and a decent job on the costume considering that it isn't skin-tight. She seems to have a normal teen-age girl's figure, which is to say fairly moderate in the bust and not overly muscular.
She stands easily (perhaps due to the lack of heels). She can't sit--even if the cape didn't get in the way (and it's pretty flexible) the skirt is what makes it impossible. She bends at the knees and elbows, has decent shoulder articulation, and actually moves her head pretty well considering how long her hair is. Surprisingly, she doesn't turn at the waist--and that would have been easy enough to do subtly with the belt at the waist and all, so I'm not sure why that isn't the case.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
What I did on my summer vacation
Well, yesterday was the last of the lists. For one thing, I ran out of easy topics. For another, and mainly, those were the entries I wrote before spending a week out of town with uncertain internet access--and since Blogger now lets you schedule posts, that's what I did. :) But I had a lot of fun doing them and will probably do more lists if I think of any other good lists to do!
While gone, we--of course--went to comic book shops! I had planned on looking for some trades, but apparently comic book shops aren't necessarily the best places to look for specific trades because there are so many and they tend to sell out quickly. So we picked up the brand new Atomic Robo trade and then looked at the toys.
The kids both went for the Marvel Mini-Mates. The thirteen-year-old first looked at the Arsenal action figure but decided against it after a closer look. She then decided on a Deadshot figure. But as soon as she saw the Marvel Zombies Mini-Mate set, that was it. As for the nine-year-old, she picked out Ms. Marvel and Ultron, and a Spider-Man/Mary Jane movie set. Incidentally, she was scandalized by the fact that minimate MJ isn't wearing underwear! (I told her that perhaps MJ was wearing tights, but she was having none of it--no underwear!).
And I picked up a few action figures. Which I'll talk about in another post because I am tired. Just happy to get back to my normal altitude, 5000 feet wore me out!
While gone, we--of course--went to comic book shops! I had planned on looking for some trades, but apparently comic book shops aren't necessarily the best places to look for specific trades because there are so many and they tend to sell out quickly. So we picked up the brand new Atomic Robo trade and then looked at the toys.
The kids both went for the Marvel Mini-Mates. The thirteen-year-old first looked at the Arsenal action figure but decided against it after a closer look. She then decided on a Deadshot figure. But as soon as she saw the Marvel Zombies Mini-Mate set, that was it. As for the nine-year-old, she picked out Ms. Marvel and Ultron, and a Spider-Man/Mary Jane movie set. Incidentally, she was scandalized by the fact that minimate MJ isn't wearing underwear! (I told her that perhaps MJ was wearing tights, but she was having none of it--no underwear!).
And I picked up a few action figures. Which I'll talk about in another post because I am tired. Just happy to get back to my normal altitude, 5000 feet wore me out!
Friday, June 27, 2008
My ten favorite superhero teams (Marvel and DC)
The Avengers
Legion of Superheroes (pre-Crisis)
Fantastic Four
The Defenders (1970s--Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, etc.)
New Teen Titans (1970s Starfire, etc.)
Justice Society
Secret Six
Birds of Prey
Young Avengers
Great Lakes Avengers
Legion of Superheroes (pre-Crisis)
Fantastic Four
The Defenders (1970s--Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, etc.)
New Teen Titans (1970s Starfire, etc.)
Justice Society
Secret Six
Birds of Prey
Young Avengers
Great Lakes Avengers
Thursday, June 26, 2008
My ten favorite non-heroic, non-villainous characters (Marvel and DC)
Willie Lumpkin (the Fantastic Four's mailman)
Jarvis (the Avengers' butler, usually not a Skrull)
Etta Candy
Mrs. Arbogast (Tony Stark's best secretary)
J. Jonah Jameson
Lois Lane
Max Lord (Giffen era)
Pepper Potts (Tony Stark's secretary/assistant)
Alfred (Bruce Wayne's butler)
Jimmy Olsen
Jarvis (the Avengers' butler, usually not a Skrull)
Etta Candy
Mrs. Arbogast (Tony Stark's best secretary)
J. Jonah Jameson
Lois Lane
Max Lord (Giffen era)
Pepper Potts (Tony Stark's secretary/assistant)
Alfred (Bruce Wayne's butler)
Jimmy Olsen
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
My ten favorite DC villains
Catwoman
Harley Quinn
Luthor
The Riddler
Giganta
Deadshot
Mad Hatter
The Joker
Poison Ivy
Sinestro
From this I must conclude that DC has far better villainesses than Marvel.
Harley Quinn
Luthor
The Riddler
Giganta
Deadshot
Mad Hatter
The Joker
Poison Ivy
Sinestro
From this I must conclude that DC has far better villainesses than Marvel.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
My ten favorite Marvel villains
Dr. Doom (but of course!)
M.O.D.O.K.
Kang the Conqueror
The Red Skull
The Mole Man
Puppet Master
The Enchantress
Titania
Doctor Octopus
Ultron
M.O.D.O.K.
Kang the Conqueror
The Red Skull
The Mole Man
Puppet Master
The Enchantress
Titania
Doctor Octopus
Ultron
Monday, June 23, 2008
My ten favorite members of the Legion of Superheroes (pre-Crisis)
Saturn Girl
Phantom Girl
Brainiac 5
Wildfire
Invisible Kid
Shrinking Violet
Sun Boy
Element Lad
Princess Projectra
Matter-Eater Lad
Phantom Girl
Brainiac 5
Wildfire
Invisible Kid
Shrinking Violet
Sun Boy
Element Lad
Princess Projectra
Matter-Eater Lad
Sunday, June 22, 2008
My ten favorite DC heroes (female)
Saturn Girl (pre-Crisis)
Zinda (Lady Blackhawk)
Power Girl
Starfire
Huntress
Zatanna
Black Canary
Liberty Belle (Jesse)
Green Lantern (Soranik Natu)
Ice
Zinda (Lady Blackhawk)
Power Girl
Starfire
Huntress
Zatanna
Black Canary
Liberty Belle (Jesse)
Green Lantern (Soranik Natu)
Ice
Saturday, June 21, 2008
My ten favorite DC heroes (male)
Green Lantern (Kyle)
Green Lantern (Guy)
Martian Manhunter :(
Catman (he's kind of more hero-ey than not, right?)
Flash (Wally)
Green Lantern (Alan)
Plastic Man
Jason Todd
Blue Beetle (Ted)
Brainiac 5 (pre-Crisis)
Green Lantern (Guy)
Martian Manhunter :(
Catman (he's kind of more hero-ey than not, right?)
Flash (Wally)
Green Lantern (Alan)
Plastic Man
Jason Todd
Blue Beetle (Ted)
Brainiac 5 (pre-Crisis)
Friday, June 20, 2008
My ten favorite Marvel heroes (female)
She-Hulk
Black Widow
Scarlet Witch
Crystal
Ms. Marvel
Wasp
Spider-Woman (although maybe not after Secret Invasion...)
Psylocke (the original Betsy)
The Cat/Tigra
Spitfire
Black Widow
Scarlet Witch
Crystal
Ms. Marvel
Wasp
Spider-Woman (although maybe not after Secret Invasion...)
Psylocke (the original Betsy)
The Cat/Tigra
Spitfire
Thursday, June 19, 2008
My ten favorite Marvel heroes (male)
Nick Fury
Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
Winter Soldier/Captain America/Bucky
The Vision (classic version)
The Thing
Luke Cage
Black Knight (Dane Whitman)
Iron Man
The Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Namor
Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
Winter Soldier/Captain America/Bucky
The Vision (classic version)
The Thing
Luke Cage
Black Knight (Dane Whitman)
Iron Man
The Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Namor
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My ten favorite DC comics
(All current runs unless otherwise specified.)
Legion of Superheroes (pre-Crisis)
Green Lantern Corps
Justice Society of America
Birds of Prey
The New Teen Titans (from the 70s, Starfire and company)
JLA (Morrison)
Giffen-era Justice League
All-New Atom
Wonder Woman
1990s Green Lantern (the Kyle years)
Legion of Superheroes (pre-Crisis)
Green Lantern Corps
Justice Society of America
Birds of Prey
The New Teen Titans (from the 70s, Starfire and company)
JLA (Morrison)
Giffen-era Justice League
All-New Atom
Wonder Woman
1990s Green Lantern (the Kyle years)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
My ten favorite Marvel comics
So what happens when I'm not going to have a chance to blog for a little while? This is what you get...
(All current runs unless otherwise specified.)
Captain America
The Avengers (pre-Disassembled and not including Heroes Reborn)
The Defenders (1970s--Nighthawk, Valkyrie, that bunch)
Ms. Marvel
Moon Knight
The Invaders (the 1970s series)
New Avengers
She-Hulk (would have been higher a few months ago)
Fantastic Four (nostalgia value, though I'm not getting it currently)
Excalibur (the old one, with Meggan, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler)
(All current runs unless otherwise specified.)
Captain America
The Avengers (pre-Disassembled and not including Heroes Reborn)
The Defenders (1970s--Nighthawk, Valkyrie, that bunch)
Ms. Marvel
Moon Knight
The Invaders (the 1970s series)
New Avengers
She-Hulk (would have been higher a few months ago)
Fantastic Four (nostalgia value, though I'm not getting it currently)
Excalibur (the old one, with Meggan, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler)
Monday, June 16, 2008
Things that make you go "huh?"
The new Hulk movie is apparently being criticized because of smoking in the movie by the Hulk's nemesis General Ross.
Yeah, because I know I grew up wanting to be just like Thunderbolt Ross....
::rolls eyes::
Yeah, because I know I grew up wanting to be just like Thunderbolt Ross....
::rolls eyes::
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Newsarama complaint #4
On the front page, you actually have to click a "Comics" button to get to the comics news. Because, I guess, they no longer assume that people who come to Newsarama are there for the comics?
(Actually I think we are now getting into the laziness issues... :))
(Actually I think we are now getting into the laziness issues... :))
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Nostalgia and linkage
This one, I got a kick out of although I'm not a smoker and never have been.
Smokers of the Marvel Universe
It brings back fond memories of reading the old Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four when I was a kid, with Mr. Fantastic being all Fred MacMurray with his pipe...
It's been a long time, but you can still see it in old movies, old comics, old newspaper cartoon--the way smoking style was used as an indicator of certain character traits. Plain old cigarettes were common enough that they didn't really indicate anything in particular, but the less common tobacco products certainly did.
Cigarette in holder - if female, femme fatale or exotic; if male, perhaps a little too cultured (particularly if he's also got on a dressing gown and fez).
Cigar - tough guy, very likely with a rough exterior concealing a good heart.
Pipe - fatherly type, or perhaps a professor, absent-minded or otherwise.
Chewing tobacco - unsavory type, or possibly a hillbilly, although a corncob pipe was probably more likely in the latter case.
I can't really complain about the lack of this in current comics (or media)--there are certainly ways to indicate what Nick Fury or Ben Grimm are like other than sticking a cigar in their mouths--but it's an interesting bit of visual shorthand that's gone by the wayside along with smoking itself, for the most part.
Smokers of the Marvel Universe
It brings back fond memories of reading the old Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four when I was a kid, with Mr. Fantastic being all Fred MacMurray with his pipe...
It's been a long time, but you can still see it in old movies, old comics, old newspaper cartoon--the way smoking style was used as an indicator of certain character traits. Plain old cigarettes were common enough that they didn't really indicate anything in particular, but the less common tobacco products certainly did.
Cigarette in holder - if female, femme fatale or exotic; if male, perhaps a little too cultured (particularly if he's also got on a dressing gown and fez).
Cigar - tough guy, very likely with a rough exterior concealing a good heart.
Pipe - fatherly type, or perhaps a professor, absent-minded or otherwise.
Chewing tobacco - unsavory type, or possibly a hillbilly, although a corncob pipe was probably more likely in the latter case.
I can't really complain about the lack of this in current comics (or media)--there are certainly ways to indicate what Nick Fury or Ben Grimm are like other than sticking a cigar in their mouths--but it's an interesting bit of visual shorthand that's gone by the wayside along with smoking itself, for the most part.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Newsarama complaint #3
The comic viewer. It seems to work all right, although it's a little slow to load (presumably for those whose internet connections move at greater than a snail's pace, it's fine). But I miss the thumbnails...
I am just getting picky as all hell, aren't I?
It's been a long day.
I am just getting picky as all hell, aren't I?
It's been a long day.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Newsarama complaint #2
I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like there is no longer any way to have posts made to forum threads you're interested in emailed to you.
You know, this is such a common function that it never occurred to me that the new forum wouldn't have it.
It does, as far as I'm concerned, reduce the forum's functionality considerably. Smaller forums I'll go back and check because I can do it quickly. But Newsarama is so huge that the time it would take would make it not worth my while.
If in fact this is gone, I guess I ought to start looking for another main source of comic news.
You know, this is such a common function that it never occurred to me that the new forum wouldn't have it.
It does, as far as I'm concerned, reduce the forum's functionality considerably. Smaller forums I'll go back and check because I can do it quickly. But Newsarama is so huge that the time it would take would make it not worth my while.
If in fact this is gone, I guess I ought to start looking for another main source of comic news.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Hoping to see more of Hellcat after this
There's a pictures-only preview up of the first issue of the Hellcat miniseries, which I'd been quite looking forward to based on her appearances in The Avengers way back when.
The art isn't quite what I'd expected, but it looks all right, particularly given Hellcat's history. Patsy Walker is in fact a Golden Age character; she was the star of a girls' comic that ran from 1945-65. She made occasional cameo appearances in early Silver Age Marvel books, and in the 1970s she became a full-fledged superheroine. If I recall correctly, she was a friend of Hank McCoy, the Beast (an Avenger at the time), and happened to be along during a mission of some sort when she came across Tigra's old costume (from her pre-anthropomorphic days as The Cat), put it on, and just like that, Patsy the model became Hellcat.
She had more new backstory than that, of course--in an early reworking of older characters, Patsy was said to have eventually married her beau from the Patsy Walker comic, Buzz Baxter. Poor Buzz, his character no longer defined by the teen-romance genre stereotype, became an abusive husband and all-around stereotypical corporate bad guy--not to mention, apparently, a genuine super-villain at one point. As for Patsy, she spent some time in the Defenders, married the Son of Satan, and was, I believe, dead at one point.
Despite all that, Patsy always seemed to maintain her optimism, and was definitely a glass-half-full type. I'm hoping that remains the case in the upcoming mini.
The art isn't quite what I'd expected, but it looks all right, particularly given Hellcat's history. Patsy Walker is in fact a Golden Age character; she was the star of a girls' comic that ran from 1945-65. She made occasional cameo appearances in early Silver Age Marvel books, and in the 1970s she became a full-fledged superheroine. If I recall correctly, she was a friend of Hank McCoy, the Beast (an Avenger at the time), and happened to be along during a mission of some sort when she came across Tigra's old costume (from her pre-anthropomorphic days as The Cat), put it on, and just like that, Patsy the model became Hellcat.
She had more new backstory than that, of course--in an early reworking of older characters, Patsy was said to have eventually married her beau from the Patsy Walker comic, Buzz Baxter. Poor Buzz, his character no longer defined by the teen-romance genre stereotype, became an abusive husband and all-around stereotypical corporate bad guy--not to mention, apparently, a genuine super-villain at one point. As for Patsy, she spent some time in the Defenders, married the Son of Satan, and was, I believe, dead at one point.
Despite all that, Patsy always seemed to maintain her optimism, and was definitely a glass-half-full type. I'm hoping that remains the case in the upcoming mini.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Catching up on my internet reading
I was reading this article at Newsarama--an interview with Grant Morrison about Final Crisis, including some discussion of how it ties in with events in Countdown. Now, I liked Countdown a lot, but it's true that some of what's in it doesn't seem to fully make sense. One thing he said jumped out at me,
which seems to indicate that most of the problems I've seen mentioned were due to people just not knowing what was being touched on elsewhere. That's got to be a consistent problem with these big events, keeping everyone informed.
Okay, that was a long quote :), but it did make me think of a few things. One is that I'm perfectly ready to enjoy Final Crisis, even without the sigh. Assuming it's enjoyable and I see no reason it wouldn't be.
Another is that it's amazing to me that they're even able to do these events at all. It's hard to imagine the organization that has to be involved, and I suppose it's not surprising if, every so often, the railroad tracks don't quite match up when they finally meet.
Yet other is that just because people like to talk about these sorts of inconsistencies doesn't mean that they don't enjoy the books as well. There's a long history of fans noticing when things in a comic just aren't quite right, dating back at least to the Silver Age when Marvel used to give out actual No-Prizes to fans who noticed and explained them. (I used to love it, as a kid, when someone would get a No-Prize in a letter column. It was clear to me even then that the comic creators sort of figured that the errors were inevitable and took the most reader-friendly approach they could think of to deal with them.) For a lot of folks, trying to make the pieces fit is part of the fun of comics.
And the last is that I'm not quite sure I'm smart enough to read comics by Grant Morrison. (Goes to Wikipedia to read about superstring theory...)
although I’ve tried to avoid contradicting much of the twists and turns of that book as I can with the current Final Crisis scripts, the truth is, we were too far down the road of our own book to reflect everything that went on in Countdown, hence the disconnects that online commentators, sadly, seem to find more fascinating than the stories themselves
which seems to indicate that most of the problems I've seen mentioned were due to people just not knowing what was being touched on elsewhere. That's got to be a consistent problem with these big events, keeping everyone informed.
the best I can do is suggest that the somewhat contradictory depictions of Orion and Darkseid’s last-last-last battle that we witnessed in Countdown and DOTNG recently were apocryphal attempts to describe an indescribable cosmic event.
To reiterate, hopefully for the last time, when we started work on Final Crisis, J.G. and I had no idea what was going to happen in Countdown or Death Of The New Gods because neither of those books existed at that point. The Countdown writers were later asked to ‘seed’ material from Final Crisis and in some cases, probably due to the pressure of filling the pages of a weekly book, that seeding amounted to entire plotlines veering off in directions I had never envisaged, anticipated or planned for in Final Crisis.
The way I see it readers can choose to spend the rest of the year fixating on the plot quirks of a series which has ended, or they can breathe a sigh of relief, settle back and enjoy the shiny new DC universe status quo we’re setting up in the pages of Final Crisis and its satellite books. I’m sure both of these paths to enlightenment will find adherents of different temperaments.
Okay, that was a long quote :), but it did make me think of a few things. One is that I'm perfectly ready to enjoy Final Crisis, even without the sigh. Assuming it's enjoyable and I see no reason it wouldn't be.
Another is that it's amazing to me that they're even able to do these events at all. It's hard to imagine the organization that has to be involved, and I suppose it's not surprising if, every so often, the railroad tracks don't quite match up when they finally meet.
Yet other is that just because people like to talk about these sorts of inconsistencies doesn't mean that they don't enjoy the books as well. There's a long history of fans noticing when things in a comic just aren't quite right, dating back at least to the Silver Age when Marvel used to give out actual No-Prizes to fans who noticed and explained them. (I used to love it, as a kid, when someone would get a No-Prize in a letter column. It was clear to me even then that the comic creators sort of figured that the errors were inevitable and took the most reader-friendly approach they could think of to deal with them.) For a lot of folks, trying to make the pieces fit is part of the fun of comics.
And the last is that I'm not quite sure I'm smart enough to read comics by Grant Morrison. (Goes to Wikipedia to read about superstring theory...)
Monday, June 09, 2008
Newsarama complaint #1
They lost my forum user ID info during the change.
Now, I never did post there, but I did make fairly frequent use of that thing they had where you can subscribe to a discussion and have posts on threads of interests emailed to you.
And yes, I'm sure that the ID was gone. Not only because I couldn't log in, which could have meant that I'd forgotten my password (which, you know, is something I'm kind of known for :)) but because I was able to create a new ID with the same name and at the same email address. (They had no record of any ID associated with my email.) So, presumably, the old one was gone.
Not a huge deal, I guess, but a little surprising since it looked as if they'd made quite an effort to not do that.
Now, I never did post there, but I did make fairly frequent use of that thing they had where you can subscribe to a discussion and have posts on threads of interests emailed to you.
And yes, I'm sure that the ID was gone. Not only because I couldn't log in, which could have meant that I'd forgotten my password (which, you know, is something I'm kind of known for :)) but because I was able to create a new ID with the same name and at the same email address. (They had no record of any ID associated with my email.) So, presumably, the old one was gone.
Not a huge deal, I guess, but a little surprising since it looked as if they'd made quite an effort to not do that.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Idle Hush thoughts [Old, old spoilers]
So when I finished reading Hush (once the thirteen-year-old was finished with it), I decided to have another look at the Red Hood trades.
Now, when Hush was written, were they planning then on Jason Todd coming back in actuality?
In Hush (if you haven't read it, and if you have and I've gotten something wrong please feel free to correct me), there's a scene near the end of the arc where Batman meets "Jason" in a graveyard, only to discover in the end that it's not actually Jason, it's Clayface.
In the Red Hood trade, there's a scene at the end (I think it was in an annual, not in the original Red Hood storyline) that tells something about real-Jason's history; among other things, it expands on the Hush scene, saying that it was real-Jason that Batman met at the graveyard, but only for part of the fight--at some point he switched places with Clayface and left the scene.
As far as I can see, there's no way to figure out exactly which parts of the Hush scene feature (in retrospect/retcon) real-Jason and which feature Clayface. The later scene matches up pretty well visually, so I guess we can assume that the switch was made near the end of the fight, but you can't really do it from the dialogue or from the art, which may have been the point.
What I found amusing was that the main reasons Batman figured out that it wasn't real Jason were (a) he didn't call him "Bruce," and (b) real-Jason kind of sucked (i.e. the Clayface Jason was too good to be the real thing). The Red Hood story answered the skill issue by emphasizing that Jason had had additional training. Also interesting was his comment that Jason appeared to be as old as Nightwing, which works for Hush but not really for Red Hood. Not that age estimation is an exact science, except maybe for Batman...
So with all that, I've got to assume that when Hush was written, Red Hood was in no one's mind.
However, the last bit of the Hush story features the Riddler, who refuses to tell when Batman asks him what did happen to Jason's grave. Which does sort of indicate that there were plans of some sort there for Jason.
Now, when Hush was written, were they planning then on Jason Todd coming back in actuality?
In Hush (if you haven't read it, and if you have and I've gotten something wrong please feel free to correct me), there's a scene near the end of the arc where Batman meets "Jason" in a graveyard, only to discover in the end that it's not actually Jason, it's Clayface.
In the Red Hood trade, there's a scene at the end (I think it was in an annual, not in the original Red Hood storyline) that tells something about real-Jason's history; among other things, it expands on the Hush scene, saying that it was real-Jason that Batman met at the graveyard, but only for part of the fight--at some point he switched places with Clayface and left the scene.
As far as I can see, there's no way to figure out exactly which parts of the Hush scene feature (in retrospect/retcon) real-Jason and which feature Clayface. The later scene matches up pretty well visually, so I guess we can assume that the switch was made near the end of the fight, but you can't really do it from the dialogue or from the art, which may have been the point.
What I found amusing was that the main reasons Batman figured out that it wasn't real Jason were (a) he didn't call him "Bruce," and (b) real-Jason kind of sucked (i.e. the Clayface Jason was too good to be the real thing). The Red Hood story answered the skill issue by emphasizing that Jason had had additional training. Also interesting was his comment that Jason appeared to be as old as Nightwing, which works for Hush but not really for Red Hood. Not that age estimation is an exact science, except maybe for Batman...
So with all that, I've got to assume that when Hush was written, Red Hood was in no one's mind.
However, the last bit of the Hush story features the Riddler, who refuses to tell when Batman asks him what did happen to Jason's grave. Which does sort of indicate that there were plans of some sort there for Jason.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Wondering about Poison Ivy [Maybe-Spoilers?]
So I picked up the original Batman Hush series in trade paperback. The thirteen-year-old has been looking through it, due primarily to the presence of Catwoman, and why not?
Anyway, there's a scene early on where Catwoman is doing some Bad Things not of her own volition but because she's under the control of Poison Ivy. In Ivy's words, "You know you can't resist me. No man--or woman can."
So I'm doing something or other while the kid is reading, and I hear "I didn't know Catwoman was gay." Not as in she cares, but as in she's only seen Catwoman showing a romantic interest in Batman, who is, as they say, all man.
She was thinking, you see, of that scene in Countdown where Ivy has captured Trickster and Piper and is using her abilities to get information out of them. It works on Trickster, who is straight. It doesn't work on Piper, who is gay. The implication, at least, is that if a person wouldn't be attracted to Ivy under other circumstances, her powers of persuasion are not effective on them.
So this means what? That Catwoman is bi? (Not according to "no man--or woman.") Or that what we saw in Countdown was an inaccurate portrayal of this aspect of Ivy's powers?
(I'm guessing the latter.)
Anyway, there's a scene early on where Catwoman is doing some Bad Things not of her own volition but because she's under the control of Poison Ivy. In Ivy's words, "You know you can't resist me. No man--or woman can."
So I'm doing something or other while the kid is reading, and I hear "I didn't know Catwoman was gay." Not as in she cares, but as in she's only seen Catwoman showing a romantic interest in Batman, who is, as they say, all man.
She was thinking, you see, of that scene in Countdown where Ivy has captured Trickster and Piper and is using her abilities to get information out of them. It works on Trickster, who is straight. It doesn't work on Piper, who is gay. The implication, at least, is that if a person wouldn't be attracted to Ivy under other circumstances, her powers of persuasion are not effective on them.
So this means what? That Catwoman is bi? (Not according to "no man--or woman.") Or that what we saw in Countdown was an inaccurate portrayal of this aspect of Ivy's powers?
(I'm guessing the latter.)
Friday, June 06, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
I like it too
I'm wondering, with the presence of Misfit and the apparent recurring-character status of Black Alice, why I haven't seen Birds of Prey suggested as good comic book reading for teenage girls? My kids liked the book before either of them came along, so I don't suppose they're necessarily a good measure of whether other kids and teens would like it, but they both read it every month.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Belated Free Comic Book Day
The box of comics this month included a handful of the Free Comic Book Day selections. Since ordinarily we wouldn't be getting our hands on these, here's a bit of commentary.
Marvel Adventures Iron Man & Hulk & Spider-Man
Immediately snatched up by the nine-year-old. Cute story, just enough humor, and the Mandarin as villain, looking actually pretty cool instead of all Fu Manchu. Like most of the Marvel Adventures line, you don't need a lot of comic background to follow this one--plus it features three of Marvel's best known heroes, thanks to the movies.
All-Star Superman #1
Not bad. The thirteen-year-old doesn't like Superman so didn't care for it; the nine-year-old hasn't read it yet but it has the sort of art that she tends to like. I thought it was all right, although I don't generally care much for non-standard-continuity stories--but I can see where that would be a plus for this particular selection.
Atomic Robo
The thirteen-year-old dug it. She says, and I quote, "It's the best!" and pronounced it "cute." I thought the book did a pretty good job of introducing characters to folks who are not readers of this book (I'm assuming there's an ongoing featuring this character?) without requiring any further reading. We might be looking for more of this.
The Death-Defying Devil
This one, no one seemed to care for much, in part because the story seems to require more background information than we have. In other words, confusing. Also, not impressed with the fact that it bore a closer resemblance to an advertisement than to a comic. That is not a complaint, by the way--it's a free book, after all--just one of the reasons why I'm not inclined to seek out whatever regular title this character appears in.
Marvel Adventures Iron Man & Hulk & Spider-Man
Immediately snatched up by the nine-year-old. Cute story, just enough humor, and the Mandarin as villain, looking actually pretty cool instead of all Fu Manchu. Like most of the Marvel Adventures line, you don't need a lot of comic background to follow this one--plus it features three of Marvel's best known heroes, thanks to the movies.
All-Star Superman #1
Not bad. The thirteen-year-old doesn't like Superman so didn't care for it; the nine-year-old hasn't read it yet but it has the sort of art that she tends to like. I thought it was all right, although I don't generally care much for non-standard-continuity stories--but I can see where that would be a plus for this particular selection.
Atomic Robo
The thirteen-year-old dug it. She says, and I quote, "It's the best!" and pronounced it "cute." I thought the book did a pretty good job of introducing characters to folks who are not readers of this book (I'm assuming there's an ongoing featuring this character?) without requiring any further reading. We might be looking for more of this.
The Death-Defying Devil
This one, no one seemed to care for much, in part because the story seems to require more background information than we have. In other words, confusing. Also, not impressed with the fact that it bore a closer resemblance to an advertisement than to a comic. That is not a complaint, by the way--it's a free book, after all--just one of the reasons why I'm not inclined to seek out whatever regular title this character appears in.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Take it where you find it
I like what I like, and I'm too old to bother trying to like what I don't like. Sure, I like Captain America, it's at the top of my list. I also liked Countdown. I enjoyed Identity Crisis. I like New Avengers and Mighty Avengers. And it's a little early to tell, but I see no evidence so far that I won't like Titans.
Aaand...I like milk chocolate better than dark by a significant margin; love Nero Wolfe mysteries; prefer my wine sweet, red and cheap; fully enjoy watching old Irwin Allen shows on TV; enjoy an occasional Big Mac; hate skins in my potato salad; and will watch any movie Bela Lugosi ever made as often as they care to show them.
This, I think, is proof positive that you can't really correlate the pleasure taken from anything in this world with the quality assigned to it.
Aaand...I like milk chocolate better than dark by a significant margin; love Nero Wolfe mysteries; prefer my wine sweet, red and cheap; fully enjoy watching old Irwin Allen shows on TV; enjoy an occasional Big Mac; hate skins in my potato salad; and will watch any movie Bela Lugosi ever made as often as they care to show them.
This, I think, is proof positive that you can't really correlate the pleasure taken from anything in this world with the quality assigned to it.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Mockingbird
I am a little torn about the maybe-return of Mockingbird in Secret Invasion.
On the one hand, I liked the character well enough, although she was never a particular favorite. I've always been a Hawkeye fan, and her presence gave him some good storylines (particularly in West Coast Avengers...or was it Avengers West Coast...oh, wait, it was both, never did figure that one out). I've always liked non-powered (trained rather than lucky :)) female heroes, and she's one of those.
On the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of married superheroes in general, and I think Hawkeye as a character actually works better as single due to his personality. I never got the sense that Mockingbird was really his equal as a hero (as I did with the Black Widow), which was a problem for me, particularly since she was an Avenger. I also understand that she's had some significant after-death appearances, which could make it a problem for the new arrival to be the real Bobbie. But mainly, I honestly just didn't miss her. Seeing her didn't give me the "ooh, maybe she's not a Skrull, wouldn't that be cool!" reaction.
Oh, and Clint asking her about a certain date that only the two of them would know about? He's deluding himself if he thinks that's positive proof one way or the other.
I envision something like this scene from JLA where Plastic Man thinks he has trickily discovered which of multiple white-Martian Green Lanterns was the real Kyle...
Clint is smarter than that.
On the one hand, I liked the character well enough, although she was never a particular favorite. I've always been a Hawkeye fan, and her presence gave him some good storylines (particularly in West Coast Avengers...or was it Avengers West Coast...oh, wait, it was both, never did figure that one out). I've always liked non-powered (trained rather than lucky :)) female heroes, and she's one of those.
On the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of married superheroes in general, and I think Hawkeye as a character actually works better as single due to his personality. I never got the sense that Mockingbird was really his equal as a hero (as I did with the Black Widow), which was a problem for me, particularly since she was an Avenger. I also understand that she's had some significant after-death appearances, which could make it a problem for the new arrival to be the real Bobbie. But mainly, I honestly just didn't miss her. Seeing her didn't give me the "ooh, maybe she's not a Skrull, wouldn't that be cool!" reaction.
Oh, and Clint asking her about a certain date that only the two of them would know about? He's deluding himself if he thinks that's positive proof one way or the other.
I envision something like this scene from JLA where Plastic Man thinks he has trickily discovered which of multiple white-Martian Green Lanterns was the real Kyle...
Clint is smarter than that.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Is there no end to it? (More comic budget issues.)
(Blame Newsarama for making me think about it. Every time I think I'm done, they post a new article and I think "Oh, yeah, there's that, isn't there?")
This is a theme throughout all of the articles, and while it seems likely that people do tend to go for the cheap entertainment during hard times, one issue is whether comics really are cheap entertainment. Hardcore fans are going to keep buying for as long as they can manage it. And I suppose it's arguable that a fairly large percentage of comic fans are hardcore fans, simply because the way things are these days (long story arcs, multiple tie-ins, special events, decades-long continuity issues), it's hard for someone to enjoy comics as a casual reader.
Which means that even if non-fans were inclined to look toward comics as a cheaper entertainment option, it's still an awful lot of work to get up to speed, and I don't see a lot of people who just want a bit of light reading once in a while being willing to put forth that sort of effort.
And a lot of current fans are economizing--cutting back on purchases, being more selective in what they buy, switching to trade format, switching to mail-order comic stores that offer significant discounts. And once a book is off the pull list, are we likely to put it back? (Barring cases where a book was dropped for specific reasons that are later addressed--by a new creative team, for example.) On the whole, people don't seem to be dropping comics altogether (and if they have, they often consider it a temporary measure), but they're trying to spend less on what they get, and that has to have some impact.
And as for adding, well, personally if isn't a sure thing (Deadpool!!! :)) I think hard before adding something new, particularly a new ongoing. I'm more likely to add a mini, something where the extra expense will take place over a limited time. In theory, by the time that mini is over there'll be another mini starting, but there's no guarantee that I'll want anything to replace it.
Also, something I haven't seen addressed often is that people may be sharing their books more these days. (Maybe they're not and that's why I haven't seen it?) I do know that if I'm thinking of trying something new, I'll often ask my brother whether he's seen it, or gets it, and if he does I'll probably just read what he's got on hand. He also reads some of my books. I realize of course that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a comic-friendly sibling or friend.
(Of course there are a couple of different economics-related issues. The first one is simple and direct--do you have enough money to buy comics, and if so, how many? The second one is more relative--do you think that, regardless of whether you can afford them, comics have become too expensive. You can have plenty of money and still decide that if comics go to $3.99, you're done buying them--not because you can't afford it but because you just think that's too damn much for a comic book. )
Some of the people we surveyed said they don't believe the comic book retail market will be hit as hard as some other industries, because fans enjoy it too much as an escape.
This is a theme throughout all of the articles, and while it seems likely that people do tend to go for the cheap entertainment during hard times, one issue is whether comics really are cheap entertainment. Hardcore fans are going to keep buying for as long as they can manage it. And I suppose it's arguable that a fairly large percentage of comic fans are hardcore fans, simply because the way things are these days (long story arcs, multiple tie-ins, special events, decades-long continuity issues), it's hard for someone to enjoy comics as a casual reader.
Which means that even if non-fans were inclined to look toward comics as a cheaper entertainment option, it's still an awful lot of work to get up to speed, and I don't see a lot of people who just want a bit of light reading once in a while being willing to put forth that sort of effort.
And a lot of current fans are economizing--cutting back on purchases, being more selective in what they buy, switching to trade format, switching to mail-order comic stores that offer significant discounts. And once a book is off the pull list, are we likely to put it back? (Barring cases where a book was dropped for specific reasons that are later addressed--by a new creative team, for example.) On the whole, people don't seem to be dropping comics altogether (and if they have, they often consider it a temporary measure), but they're trying to spend less on what they get, and that has to have some impact.
And as for adding, well, personally if isn't a sure thing (Deadpool!!! :)) I think hard before adding something new, particularly a new ongoing. I'm more likely to add a mini, something where the extra expense will take place over a limited time. In theory, by the time that mini is over there'll be another mini starting, but there's no guarantee that I'll want anything to replace it.
Also, something I haven't seen addressed often is that people may be sharing their books more these days. (Maybe they're not and that's why I haven't seen it?) I do know that if I'm thinking of trying something new, I'll often ask my brother whether he's seen it, or gets it, and if he does I'll probably just read what he's got on hand. He also reads some of my books. I realize of course that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a comic-friendly sibling or friend.
(Of course there are a couple of different economics-related issues. The first one is simple and direct--do you have enough money to buy comics, and if so, how many? The second one is more relative--do you think that, regardless of whether you can afford them, comics have become too expensive. You can have plenty of money and still decide that if comics go to $3.99, you're done buying them--not because you can't afford it but because you just think that's too damn much for a comic book. )
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